Screed Rail Guide Connector System

ABSTRACT

A series of dual-transverse-tubular screed rail guide connectors are slidably attached to a cooperating series of vertical support rods driven into a substrate at defined intervals to establish a pavement grade and perimeter. Each connector comprises an adjustable horizontally-oriented tubular sleeve that is slidably attachable at variable heights to a support rod by means of an integral vertically-oriented tubular clamp. Sections of tubular screed rail guides are inserted through the tubular sleeves of the connectors to define the perimeter of the area to be paved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of supports for screed rail used to establish the elevation of a graded surface for construction aggregates, slurry, concrete, bituminous aggregates, dense graded aggregates, subsurface bedding in concrete and/or segmental paving applications. The present invention can be applied to establish grades for subsurface or finish grade surface.

Effective grade control is critical in any process involving placement and compaction of a poured material, such as concrete. The standard method of grade control uses wooden forms, which are subject to warpage, cracking and lifting during compaction of the material. Such forms also create a sheer edge that will collapse after the forms are removed.

Improvements over the standard form method of grade control have been directed to the use of horizontal tubular screed rail guides secured by a series of vertical stakes or pins around the perimeter of the subgrade or substrate. In some of these screed support systems, the grade elevation must be set by adjusting the height or extension of the supporting stake/pin itself, which is both time-consuming and inaccurate. Examples of such systems are disclosed in the U.S. patents of Wearn (U.S. Pat. No. 2,319,526), McMillan (U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,041), Henry (U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,937), Modrovich (U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,106) and Storjohann (U.S. Pat. No. 8,096,060). The U.S. patent of Rohrer (U.S. Pat. No. 2,347,126) describes a system of U-shaped brackets to support tubular screed guides. While the height of the brackets on the support posts is slidably adjustable by means of a set screw, they are susceptible to axial rotation around the support post. Moreover, because the Rohrer bracket is open at the top, it cannot restrain the lifting force of the poured material on the guide rails during the compaction process.

Consequently, there remains an unmet need for a screed rail guide system based on height adjustable support brackets which fully enclose the tubular screed guides and secure them to support posts so as to prevent lifting and axial rotation of the guides during material compaction. The features of the present invention are adapted to address this need and to provide a system of grade control which is more exact and much less time consuming than current methods. Moreover, the present invention involves less need to reconfirm the proposed grade elevation and is more adaptable to curvilinear configurations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention uses a series of dual-transverse-tubular screed rail guide connectors slidably attached to a cooperating series of vertical mason pins, rods or stakes driven into the substrate at appropriate intervals. Each connector comprises an adjustable horizontally-oriented tubular sleeve that is slidably attachable at variable heights to a mason pin by means of an integral vertically-oriented tubular clamp through which a set bolt is threaded.

A series of mason pins are driven into the substrate, preferably at intervals not greater than four feet, to define the perimeter of the area into which the poured material, e.g., concrete, is to be placed and compacted. A connector is then attached to each mason pin, by means of the tubular clamp and set screw, at an elevation corresponding to the designed finished grade, which can be determined using a laser leveling device. Once the set screw is tightened, the interior of the tubular clamp engages the surface of the mason pin so as to prevent the sleeve from rotating axially around the pin during the compaction process.

After the connectors have been attached to all mason pins, sections of tubular screed rail guides are inserted through the horizontal tubular sleeves of the connectors to form the perimeter of the area to be paved. The paving material can then be poured within the perimeter form and leveled either manually or mechanically with screed rods or rails drawn along the upper surfaces of the tubular screed guides, which establish the strike-off level.

The open sides of the perimeter form allow compacted paving material to flow beyond the perimeter, thereby establishing a natural tapered edge, which is more stable than the sheer edges created by standard forms. The outflow of compacted material also reduces the upward force of the material on the screed guides. The complete enclosure of the screed guides within the horizontal tubular sleeves of the connectors also serves to prevent lifting of the guides during compaction, which is not true of the open-top “saddle” type guide connectors.

The screed rail guide connectors of the present invention can be made with welded steel tubing, injection-molded PVC, or cast aluminum. This screed guide connector system provides more precise finished grade control in less time with stronger edge compaction.

The foregoing summarizes the general design features of the present invention. In the following sections, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in some detail. This specific embodiment is intended to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the present invention in accordance with the general design features discussed above. Therefore, the detailed description of this embodiment is offered for illustrative and exemplary purposes only, and it is not intended to limit the scope either of the foregoing summary description or of the claims which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a screed rail guide setup using multiple dual-transverse-tubular connectors according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a detail top plan view of one of the dual-transverse-tubular connectors according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a detail side profile view of one of the dual-transverse-tubular connectors according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2C is a detail end profile view of one of the dual-transverse-tubular connectors according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 depicts the preferred embodiment 10 of the screed rail guide connector system for establishing a pavement grade and a pavement perimeter 20 of a poured paving material. The system comprises a series of support rods 11 driven into a substrate 12 at intervals around the perimeter 20. A dual-transverse-tubular connector 13 is attached to each support rod 11 at a grade elevation 18 corresponding to the pavement grade at the location of each support rod 11.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C, the dual-transverse-tubular connector 13 comprises a horizontally-oriented tubular guide sleeve 14 that is slidably attachable at various heights to one of the support rods 11 by a vertically-oriented tubular rod clamp 15 through which a set bolt 16 is threaded. Referring again to FIG. 1, multiple sections of tubular screed rail guide 17 are each slidably insertable through the tubular guide sleeves 14 of multiple dual-transverse-tubular connectors 13, such that the sections of screed rail guide 17 are supported at the grade elevation 18 by the support rods 11 and fully enclose the pavement perimeter 20.

Once the sections of screed guide rail 17 are set in position, they enable the paving material to be poured within the paving perimeter 20 until its level exceeds the grade elevation 18. Then the paving material can be leveled and compacted by mechanically or manually drawing a screed rod or rail 19 along the upper surface of the screed rail guide 17.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims. 

1. A method for establishing a pavement grade and a pavement perimeter of a poured paving material, comprising the following steps: (a) driving multiple support rods into a substrate at support intervals around the pavement perimeter; (b) attaching a dual-transverse-tubular connector to each support rod at a grade elevation corresponding to the pavement grade at the location of each support rod; wherein the dual-transverse-tubular connector comprises a horizontally-oriented tubular guide sleeve and a vertically-oriented tubular rod clamp, such that the tubular guide sleeve is slidably attachable at variable heights to one of the support rods by the tubular rod clamp, through which a set bolt is threaded and tightened; (c) inserting each of multiple sections of tubular screed rail guide through the tubular guide sleeves of multiple dual-transverse-tubular connectors, such that the sections of screed guide rail are supported at the grade elevation by the support rods and fully enclose the pavement perimeter; (d) pouring the paving material within the pavement perimeter until its level exceeds the grade elevation; and (e) leveling and compacting the paving material by mechanically or manually drawing a screed rod or rail along the upper surface of the screed rail guide. 